[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”Lifestyle of Purpose” subhead=”June 22, 2018 | Lifestyle” background_layout=”dark” background_overlay_color=”rgba(38,38,38,0.32)” _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_image=”https://truestoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Lifestyle-of-Purpose.jpg” custom_padding=”200px||200px|” text_orientation=”left” header_fullscreen=”off” header_scroll_down=”off” image_orientation=”center” content_orientation=”center” custom_button_two=”off” button_two_icon_placement=”right” custom_button_one=”off” button_one_icon_placement=”right” /][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||1px|”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||1px|”]
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s a child I would read wide-eyed, soaking in the stories of Jim Elliot. I was fascinated with the idea of venturing into the ‘unknown’ to proclaim the Gospel to those people groups who had never heard it, let alone been discovered. These stories came back to mind the other day while I was on the train back home from university reflecting on three long years of study. I realised that the purposeful “all out for Jesus” lifestyle that Jim lived had resonated deeply with me and helped shape the way I have viewed my own lifestyle. I see a life of purpose as simply any life which pulsates and resonates with an all-out pursuit of God and his glory, and which actively seeks to invite him into every area of life. In this story, I’ve written about three key areas that this works out in my life — friendships, love, and the future.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||1px|”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||1px|”]
God is all about relationship and he is has designed our friendships to be purposeful.
Take church for example. One huge lesson that I’ve learnt while at uni, is that friendships in church are designed by God for the purpose of encouragement, strengthening and mutual pointing towards Jesus. That’s been a tricky one for me — I didn’t feel like I ‘needed’ any new Christian friends and wanted to put my energy into telling people about Jesus. This meant that I missed on the blessings which came with local Christian friends. So only since the beginning of this year, when God convicted my pride and false sense of “self-sufficiency”, have I really begun to enjoy and value church and the friendships that come with it.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.92″ src=”https://truestoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Lifestyle-of-Purpose2.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||1px|”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||1px|”]
Aside from Church, my friendships are purposeful. I’ve grown up with some great Christian friends, and we have been intentional in helping one another press on with Jesus. One of the ways we do this is by praying about and sharing our different experiences of life together. “The True Story Project” emerged out of mutual desire among some of these friends to work out ways in which we could help people learn to love Jesus in everyday life, regardless of where they are at with God. It’s this sort of purposeful friendship that has been an enormous benefit to my relationship with God throughout uni. Through reading and connecting with these stories, our prayer is that True Story may, in a similar way, be immensely helpful and beneficial to you, whatever stage of life you might be at.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||1px|”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.92″ src=”https://truestoryproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Lifestyle-of-Purpose3.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” /][et_pb_blurb title=” It isn’t random or erratic, it is expressed with intent and design” use_icon=”off” font_icon=”%%28%%” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.0.92″ header_font=”||on||||||” header_text_align=”left” header_font_size=”30″ header_text_color=”#25b2b3″ header_line_height=”1.2em” body_text_color=”#25b2b3″ url_new_window=”off” use_circle=”off” use_circle_border=”off” use_icon_font_size=”off” background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”30px|||” /][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||1px|”]
God’s love is purposeful. It isn’t random or erratic, it is expressed with intent and design (1 John 3:16).
This means then that my girlfriend and I, as beneficiaries of God’s purposeful love, aim to love each other in a similar way. We haven’t got into a relationship to be comfortable, but rather to stir one another towards loving God and to help one another do our utmost to serve him. This means that the boundaries we set, the way we conduct ourselves, the things we choose to do and not do, all are guided by a deep desire to genuinely reflect God’s love (pure, holy, light — 1 John) to one another and to those around us. Spelling out this intentional purposefulness doesn’t take away from the spontaneity or romance of love, rather I believe it adds a real depth and integrity to our relationship. Don’t get the wrong idea — by no means are we nailing this ‘purposefulness’ day-in and day-out, but God is gracious, and as we see with David, God delights in those who are sold out in pursuit of him.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||1px|”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”||1px|”]
Looking to the future I recognise that a ‘life of purpose’ isn’t something that I can contrive or achieve by my own means.
As young people, we have the same range of choices that everyone around us has: A-levels, university, jobs, future spouse, churches, etc… What makes us distinctive? I believe that our choices, motivations and actions should be distinctively shaped by God’s call for us to pursue him through a lifestyle of purpose.
A life of purpose is fundamentally one of surrender — it means holding out all that I am to Jesus, who offers me life in its fullness. This “life of fullness” is a radically counter-cultural lifestyle that the world doesn’t understand. It’s the sort of lifestyle where I am called to take up my cross and follow Jesus. The sort of lifestyle where Jim’s words ring true — “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”. This means that it isn’t easy or straightforward — it’s a struggle, an uphill battle, but also one which we are made and equipped by God to undertake.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||1px|”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_blurb title=”“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose%22 ” use_icon=”off” font_icon=”%%28%%” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.0.92″ header_font=”||on||||||” header_text_align=”left” header_font_size=”30″ header_text_color=”#25b2b3″ header_line_height=”1.2em” body_text_color=”#25b2b3″ url_new_window=”off” use_circle=”off” use_circle_border=”off” use_icon_font_size=”off” background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”|50px||” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_blog fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”3″ include_categories=”35901,35903″ show_more=”on” show_author=”off” show_comments=”on” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.92″ header_font=”|300|||||||” header_font_size=”22px” header_line_height=”1.3em” pagination_font_size_tablet=”51″ pagination_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_padding=”|||” saved_tabs=”all” show_content=”off” show_thumbnail=”on” show_date=”on” show_categories=”on” use_dropshadow=”off” use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light”]
[/et_pb_blog][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
